Americans in St. Peter’s Square were stunned and joyous when they learned that an American cardinal, Robert Provost, was elected pope and had taken the name Leo XIV.

When Cardinal Dominique Mambertì appeared on the central balcony of St. Peter's Basilica and uttered the fateful Latin phrase "Habemus Papam" (We have a pope), more than a hundred thousand people cheered.

The naming of a new pope, signaled by white smoke flowing from a chimney at the Sistine Chapel, comes after two days of deliberation over who will lead the Catholic Church. Thousands are now waiting in St.